(Re)defining learning design: a framework fit for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Learning design as we know it is at a crossroads. Based on learning theories published almost a hundred years ago, it is designing for in-person learning and a student demographic that hasn’t been seen since the 1950s. In the twenty-first century, and particularly post Covid-19, the field is long overdue for an update that puts blended and online learning at the forefront, addresses the inevitable link between the internet and education and responds to the changing demographics of learners in higher education. This paper will look at pedagogy and learning design through a modern lens with an aim to redefine the field and develop a new framework for learning design that is intuitive, inclusive, and grounded in the current century.